After Effects
by Lola5995
Summary: The war was over. Voldemort died, but so did Harry Potter. And two certain individuals are still suffering. Will the after effects of the war wear off?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Hi guys. I'm writing my first multichapter. So please review! Constructive criticism is appreciated. :)

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Harry Potter.

Hermione remembered it all too clearly. Harry had just killed Voldemort, and everybody was cheering for him. Everybody was just so happy. The war was finally over.

But then suddenly, long blonde hair was whipping across Hermione's line of sight, and a bright green glow was seen. Lucius Malfoy stepped aside, only to make a dead Harry Potter visible to all. He threw back his head and laughed an evil laugh, enough to scare even Voldemort out of his wits.

"I have avenged the Dark Lord!"

His voice echoed through the silent courtyard.

And then all hell broke loose. Everyone was basically aiming for Lucius. Hexes were flying across; most of them green. Finally, one found the target, and Lucius Malfoy too dropped dead onto the floor. There were some other bodies too, including Padma Patil. Some Death Eaters were also strewn across the floor, but most of them had escaped. Ginny was weeping beside Harry, mourning their life together that they would never have. Ron was livid. He hurled a few curses around and then broke down.

All this while, Hermione just watched. And then she cried. Harry Potter was dead, and all she did was cry. She had been too shocked to even hex Lucius. Not once had she lifted her wand. But why? Why couldn't she bring herself to do it? Dammit, if only she had...

But she hadn't. And so, Hermione Granger cried.

"Gin, please."

Hermione was getting ready for the Hogwarts reunion that was being held that evening. Professor McGonaggal had decided that the wizarding world would get some much needed respite if such an event was organised, and Ginny was all for it. For Hermione though, it would be an effort. She hadn't recovered nearly as quickly as the others, even though the war had ended five years ago. Ron struggled at first, but now he was quite back to normal. But he had taken to drinking a lot, and would often return home after getting into a brawl. Ginny, though, was much better than what she had been.

Hermione hardly socialised. She had a job at the Ministry, but it mostly included paperwork. It suited her just fine though; this way she had an excuse to not meet people anymore. She would barely even see Ron and Ginny, and Ginny would get worried about her. She felt that Hermione needed to loosen up a bit more. And Ginny had definitely gotten what she wanted tonight.

"Just one second, Hermione. Your hair's almost done!"

The redhead had been fiddling with Hermione's hair for the past half an hour. It was visibly less bushy now, but still quite crazy.

"Let it be Ginny! I don't even want to go to this stupid thing!"

Hermione was just tired. Who was she going to meet anyway? Cormac McLaggen?

"Shh. Wait... There! Done."

Hermione turned to look at herself in the mirror. Her foul expression quickly melted away, leaving a small smile in its place.

"Not bad, Gin. This is quite decent."

"Of course it is." Ginny said with a smirk.

"Wow. That smirk could rival Malfoy's." Hermione joked.

"Hmm. Wonder if we'll see him there tonight? Anyway, let's get you changed into your dress."

Hermione just rolled her eyes. This was going to be worse than she thought.

Ginny and Hermione met up with Ron outside his new apartment, and they apparated outside the Hogwarts grounds.

"WON WON!"

The three whipped around, only to see a very excited Lavender Brown behind them. Her eyes travelled over Hermione's body, and they narrowed.

"Hi Lav! Nice to see you after so long!" Ron said, completely oblivious to the tension between the two women.

Lavender promptly pulled him into a hug, and looked pointedly in Hermione's direction.

Hermione just rolled her eyes. She couldn't believe Lavender thought there was something between her and Ron. That was just absurd!

The girls exchanged pleasantries, and the four made their way to the castle.

The Great Hall was very different tonight. There were no house colours, only dark brown wooden panelling on all walls and the ceiling. Huge chandeliers were suspended in the air magically, and the House Ghosts were present too.

Hermione entered through the big doors, after being checked off on the list by Prof. Flitwick of course, and gasped.

About a hundred people were there, all from either Hermione or Ginny's year. Obviously, not much of a number, but considering the number of deaths that had occurred, it was fairly good. But the reason why she gasped, was because standing right in front of her was Cormac McLaggen. And it wasn't a gasp of awe. It was a gasp of sheer terror.

She watched in horror as he made a beeline towards her.

"Hey, Hermione! How have you been!" Cormac wrapped himself around her, leaving Hermione squirming between his muscular arms.

"I-I'm great! You tell me?" She attempted a wan smile.

"GREAAAT. Wanna meet the wife?" He grinned.

Wife. Oh thank Merlin.

"Sure!"

Cormac dragged her off to Parvati Patil. Or, Parvati McLaggen. That even sounded distorted.

An hour passed without much happening. Then a certain blonde walked in, and all eyes were trained on him. He looked visibly uncomfortable.

Why had he come again?

A few Slytherins looked at him with distaste, and he just gave them a glare of his own.

"Draco Malfoy."

He heard a soft voice say his name behind him. He turned around to see that a beautiful girl in white had said it.

"Who-Granger?"

He looked at her in disbelief. She looked so different! Her hair wasn't all frazzled, her dress fit her quite curvaceous body perfectly, and her face... Merlin, her face. But what was that? A hint of... Remorse? Sadness? For Potter perhaps. But she still managed to look good.

"Well, yes! Good to see you, Malfoy." She smiled at him meekly.

The entire room was staring at them. Was Hermione Granger being nice to Draco Malfoy?

People began to whisper.

'I thought they hated each other!'

'Looks like she's gone to the dark side'

'Isn't she supposed to be the brightest witch of her age?'

'He's definitely hexed her...'

Ron looked as if he was ready to burst, but Ginny stopped him in time.

Draco shut his eyes and sighed. People were still not okay with him, even five years after the war. He opened his eyes and looked at Hermione.

"Nice to see you too, Granger." He managed a small smile, only because he realised that he really meant what he had just said.

The hall soon returned to its previous atmosphere. Draco said a polite hello to his housemates and got a few nods in return.

"DRAKE!" A loud voice boomed.

Blaise Zabini stepped out of the shadows, a huge grin plastered on his face.

Draco let out a small laugh. Thank Merlin for Zabini.

Zabini walked over to him and gave him a whack on the arm.

"Where, just where on earth have you been? I've been trying to contact you for quite some time now, you arsehole." Zabini was quite angry now.

"Whoa. Calm down. I was just getting some stuff done Blaise." Draco tried a smirk, but it didn't work.

"Whatever. Tell me when you're ready to. Wanna go meet the ladieeeess? Oh wait. You already did." Blaise smirked.

"Whatever do you mean, Zabini?" Draco said, his voice turning cold.

"Oh no! Nothing. Just that I saw the way you looked at Granger there."

Draco turned to look at Blaise.

"Zabini, are you serious? I was just surprised to see her like... That!"

"Old crushes coming back, Drake?"

"What? No! She just looks different."

"And nice," Blaise piped in.

"And nice," Draco said with a hint of a smile.

Blaise just smirked in return.

"Hermione, what was that for? MALFOY?" Ron was seething with anger.

"Well, I don't know! Its a reunion. I was only trying to be nice to him, since nobody else was!" Hermione retorted. Why was Ron getting so annoyed anyway?

"He doesn't deserve to be treated nicely! He's a git." He said, disgusted.

"He may be a git, but he does deserve to be treated nicely. The war is over. And even during the war, he sided with us, Ron!"

"He almost killed Dumbledore."

"Almost being the key word here."

"Would you two let it go? We're here to have fun!" Ginny cut in, visibly irritated.

"Yes, let's go dance, Won Won." Lavender took him by the arm to the dance floor.

Hermione sighed and sat down at the bar with Ginny.

"Two firewhiskeys."

Social outings. What a bore. She didn't even feel like dancing. She just wanted to go home and cry. All these years, she had just been on 6 dates, and 4 of them were blind dates. Once, Seamus Finnigan asked her out. That never led to a second date. Neither did the one with Andrew, her colleague. She was a nerdy loner, alone with her books at home. Nobody enjoyed her company, because she was too sad all the time. The battle scars were still fresh; if not on her skin, on her mind. Any major social interaction caused her to shut down internally, to retreat into a shell.

And yet, she had told Malfoy that it was nice to meet him. Why?

He looked different. Not like the boy she had known, but like a man. Decidedly muscular, and even good looking. But there was something else about him. A twinge of sadness? Maybe it was the fact that the war was still haunting him as well. Maybe it was the fact that he too had trouble sleeping. (The dark circles under his eyes gave that away.) But whatever it was, it softened Hermione's heart. She felt sorry for him, but at the same time, she could relate.

She looked to her side. Ginny had disappeared with a cute dark haired boy.

She gave a sigh, and ordered another firewhiskey.

Draco Malfoy sauntered around the Hall, bored. Blaise had been by his side a while ago, but then Pansy had come along and stolen him. So now he was all alone, just like the past five years.

Everyone he knew had disowned him. His father was dead, and he wasn't too sad about that. He had lost his father long ago. The man who had died was just another guy. Sure, he felt sick about all the deaths going around. But he was happy that the man who killed Harry Potter was dead. He would never say this, but he really respected Potter. Towards the end, he was even beginning to sort of enjoy his company. But then his father-no, that man had come along and killed him.

His mother was in Azkaban, even though she didn't really have a major role in the war. There wasn't anyone who would back her, and the jury wouldn't believe Malfoy. Potter would have helped, but he was dead.

Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini were the only people he had. They were his best friends; hell, they were his only friends. They were the only people he had been in contact with since after the war.

In the beginning, he had been a drunk wreck. He moved to Australia, where nobody knew who he was. Well, the muggles didn't, at least. All he did for the first few months was get drunk. He would sit in a pub all night. He didn't even know which city he was in! But then he started to get a grip on life. He learnt the basic ways of a muggle lifestyle slowly, and after a year and a half, he got a job. It wasn't much, just a shift at a muggle library, but it was a start.

His salary wasn't much, but it was enough for him to survive. He was sick of using That Man's money. Sure, it was family money, but he didn't really have family left. And he wasn't sure if he wanted to associate himself with the Malfoys anymore either. They were everything he now stood against.

So he just spent 3 and a half years working at that library. He actually found some comfort, and time healed some of his scars, but not all. Definitely not all.

He still had nightmares, where he was killing Dumbledore, or worse, Potter.

He came to London only for this reunion. It seemed to be the right thing to do. He was scared; he hadn't been around these people for a long time. A majority; hell, ALL of them hated him, misunderstood him. Except one, apparently.

Hermione Granger.

What had gotten into her? Shouldn't she be mad at him? His father had killed her best friend! But she, of all people, had been nice to him. It had made him feel so... Wanted. A small smile crept onto his face. He looked around to see that almost half of the people in attendance were busy snogging, while the other half was busy dancing.

Now he just needed a drink.

"One firewhisky please." He said, as he flopped down on the bar stool, head in his hands.

"Did you just say please?"

He looked up to see Hermione Granger sitting next to him.

"So?" He sneered.

And he immediately felt guilty when he saw the little flash of pain in her eyes.

"You know I'm not heartless, right?" He said, with a small smile.

Hermione's face visibly relaxed.

"Of course. But the great Malfoy saying please?" She smirked.

"Please, call me Draco." He said, with a strained voice. He managed to cover up with a gigantic smirk that put Hermione's to shame.

"Draco. Hi Draco, I'm Hermione." She smiled slightly and looked into his grey eyes.

"Hi... Hermione." He returned her gaze and smiled a real smile, something he hadn't done in ages.

Ginny looked over to the bar, and saw Hermione and Malfoy sitting together and chatting.

Malfoy? Merlin's pants... But at least she's talking to SOMEone. And she's even laughing.

Ginny smiled to herself.

"Uh, hi."

Ginny turned around to see a nervous Dean Thomas behind her.

"Oh Merlin, Dean! Hi!" Ginny squealed.

Dean laughed. "Wanna dance?"

A little colour rose to her cheeks.

"Sure."

Ron sauntered over to the bar and ordered a couple of firewhiskeys. Lavender was all over him, and so he didn't notice the two people sitting at the corner of the bar.

"Are you honestly telling me that you worked in a muggle library? And lived a muggle lifestyle? How on earth did you manage that?"

Hermione was bubbling with laughter.

"Well. I just did! Its not so bad. I sort of started afresh in Australia."

Draco was grinning too, quite uncharacteristically.

"But are you living in Australia for good?" Hermione's brow furrowed.

"Well. Yes, for now. I don't know if I'm ready to come back yet." A flash of pain crossed his stony grey eyes.

"Draco, its been five years. Maybe you should give it a shot."

She looked at him with concerned eyes.

"I don't know. I saw how accepting everyone was today." His voice had a bitter note to it.

"They're not used to having you around! That's all. But if you don't think you're ready, then its up to you. Just keep track of when the healing ends and the delaying begins."

She gulped down the rest of her drink and looked at Draco. He was looking right back at her, and she felt her stomach drop. Oh, those eyes.

"OI! HERMYNEE! Whadyu think you're doin' with tha' ferret?"

Ron was drunk, to say the least. Lavender was hopping around, trying to control him. But the Beast of Alcoholism had struck.

"He's an absolute foul GIT, Mynee! Juss look at him! He's stinkin' of evullll!"

"RONALD!" Hermione screamed. "Behave yourself. And learn to hold your drinks!"

She was furious. Couldn't he see? Draco was still suffering from the pain inflicted upon him by the war. _Just like her..._

"DON'T SCREAM AT ME!" Ron lunged towards Hermione. All these years, Ron had been violent, but never had he tried to hurt Hermione. It seemed as if the devil was inside him now. He looked like he was possessed. Hermione dodged, and Ron fell smack on the floor. By the looks of it, he had passed out.

"I'll take him, don't worry Hermione. I'm really sorry." Lavender seemed quite solemn while she said this.

Hermione just nodded. Now she wanted to just go home.

But then she saw Ginny and Dean head back to the dance floor and decided against it.

On the other hand, her companion had disappeared...

Draco had discreetly slid out of the little commotion at the bar. He stood with Blaise and Pansy, who were pretty much a couple by now.

"Why did you leave her, Draco?"

Zabini was confused.

"That idiot Weasel showed up, that's why!"

"Go back to her! She'll feel alone." Pansy mumbled.

"Oh Merlin. Would you two stop?" Draco turned and looked over his shoulder. What he saw made his stomach do a flip. "She's anyway dancing with some other guy. See?" He managed to convert his grimace into a smirk, but not before Blaise noticed.

"I love this song!"

Hermione threw her head back, closed her eyes and began to do a weird dance. Cormac just laughed and twirled her around. He had asked her for a friendly dance, and they both seemed to be enjoying it. Parvati was talking to Luna and Neville animatedly about her new found pregnancy and how she and Cormac couldn't be happier. Hermione was relieved, to say the least. At least he wouldn't bug her anymore! Besides, he was sort of enjoyable company when he wasn't trying to eat her face up.

She spent another hour or so dancing with different people and reminiscing the school years. She realised that she was actually enjoying herself. In a public gathering! It was a good feeling. Right now she was dancing with Seamus, who was a good dancer. their disastrous date had been forgotten, and they were friends.

"Excuse me, Finnigan, but I'm going to steal her away now. Hope you don't mind."

Draco just hadn't been able to take it. He wanted to spend time with her, for some unexplainable reason. So he had finally worked up the nerve to go to her. She always seemed to be surrounded by some guy or the other. At least Finnigan wasn't much of a threat, if worst came to worst. So he had marched up to her, a firm smirk plastered on his face, and got her to dance with him.

Seamus Finnigan was too shocked and afraid to say anything to Draco Malfoy. He just let him take Hermione in his arms, as they danced to a slow song.

A small blush crept onto Hermione's face.

_Oh Merlin, am I blushing?_

She tried to hide it, but it just wouldn't go away. Draco thankfully didn't notice it.

After a few songs, Hermione was too tired. They sat down on one of the various dinner tables that had been set up. Each table had place for four people. They ended up sitting alone, because none of their friends wanted to eat just yet. Hermione admired the white roses that were the centre-pieces for the tables.

"So, tell me about yourself, Hermione." Draco looked at her intently with curious eyes.

She looked into his stormy eyes, which weren't cold like stone tonight. Instead they were like molten silver.

"Well. There really isn't much to tell. I've lived here after the war. Got my own apartment, a job at the ministry. Mostly paperwork, but I'm happy. Don't have to meet people at unnecessary outings. I would rather stay home and read. And anyway, social outings are rather boring." Hermione picked at her food, a rather delicious looking steak.

"Boring, eh Granger?" Draco cocked an eyebrow and smirked.

"Well, this one has been much better. In fact, its the most fun I've had in five years."

Her blood vessels were betraying her once more.

"Me too, Hermione. Really."

Draco gave her a million dollar smile, and she could swear she felt her stomach drop yet again.

Merlin only knows what this night would lead to...


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter.**

Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Lavender left Hogwarts at around 1 am. Everybody had a lot of fun, especially Hermione. Ron was still drunk, but somehow Lavender had managed to control him.  
>He and Lavender went to Ron's apartment, because Hermione and Ginny really couldn't deal with him at that time. He had misbehaved with Dean as well, and both the girls were annoyed with him.<br>Ginny and Hermione made their way to Hermione's apartment.

"Well, goodnight Gin. I had a wo-"

"Oh no, you don't." Ginny said, as she barged in. "Tell me what happened!"

Hermione gave her a confused look.

"At the reunion, Herm!"

"At the reunion? No-nothing!" Hermione's flush returned.

At this, Ginny just raised an eyebrow.

"Fine. But it's really late right now. I'll tell you tomorrow."

"Oh, no. You tell me RIGHT NOW, Hermione Jean Granger."

You could tell that Ginny meant business.

Hermione gave a long sigh.

"Look. There's nothing to tell. Draco and I were-"

"DRACO? My, my. Since when is the little ferret Draco, Mione?"

Ginny had a small smile on her face, but Hermione couldn't tell if she was angry or not.

"Y-yes. Since tonight. We decided we would be civil towards each other!"

"What I saw was more than civil, don't you think?"

Hermione blushed.

"Whatever Ginny. I have to go sleep."

"NO! You have to tell me!"

"Fine! But don't interrupt. I hate it when you do that."

Ginny rolled her eyes.

_As if. _

__"Well, basically he was really nice tonight. None of that name calling. I really think he's changed, Gin. For the past five years, he's been in at a MUGGLE LIBRARY! And he's been disowned by whatever family he had left. Did you see his face when he entered?"

"Mmm. Yes. Yummy."

"Merlin, Ginny. Yummy? Really? What I meant was, he looked so... Sad. His eyes had dark circles around them, and he just looked so broken. On top of that, everybody was repulsed by him. That's why I did what I did."

Ginny was nodding in understanding. The war changed everyone, so it wasn't much of a surprise that Draco Malfoy had changed too. Well, okay. It was. But still.

"And then he came and sat next to me at the bar. So we began talking about Australia and you know, his last five years. He's... Quite like me, Ginny." Hermione said quietly. Ginny looked up.  
>"He isn't too social either. I don't know why, I enjoyed his company. And I'm guessing so did he..."<p>

"Of course he did! Did you see the way he took you away from Seamus? I did. It's like he wanted you all to himself."

"Oh Merlin, Ginny. Shut up! It was probably because I was one of the few people who would talk to him."

"Well, there was Blaise Zabini..."

"I hardly think Draco would want to slow-dance with Blaise Zabini." Hermione crinkled her nose.

"Ah, but he did want to slow dance with you."

Hermione rolled her eyes. The truth was, she had a lot of fun. It hadn't been a crazy, hell of a night out. It had been simple and just fun.  
>"Soooo?" Ginny looked at her.<p>

"What?"

"What happened next?"  
>Hermione groaned.<p>

"Well. After dancing we sat down for dinner and talked a bit more. That's all."

"Huh. Are you going to meet him again?"

"I doubt it. He lives in Australia, remember?" Hermione said with a sad smile.

"OhmyGOD. You're crushing on Draco Malfoy!" Ginny squealed, her eyes wide with excitement.

"Am not!" Hermione said, as she blushed a crimson red. Was she? No, it was just her lack of social interaction with men in general. Right?  
>Ginny just grinned and gave her a look which said sure-sure-keep-telling-yourself-that.<p>

"Please Gin. What about you and Dean?" Hermione asked with a smirk.

Ginny blushed. "Uh. He asked me for dinner. Tomorrow night."

"Oh Merlin! That's great! I'm so happy for you!" Hermione pulled Ginny into a hug. They were both so happy that night. Maybe finally they could move on...

It had been two months since the reunion, and Ginny was steadily dating Dean. Hermione was a little better around people, but it still wasn't the same. She still had pangs of depression, and she sometimes locked herself away for days in her house.  
>It was one such day, when she was sitting on her couch and watching 27 Dresses, a muggle movie, for the thirteenth time.<p>

Her thoughts wandered to that night two months ago, which seemed to be happening quite often. Why had she been so friendly to Malfoy? Why had she opened herself up to him? Did she believe he had changed? If so, why? His father killed Harry, for Merlin's sake! Even though he doesn't really idolise his father anymore. Or so he says. Did she believe him?

_Yes. __  
><em>_But why?__  
><em>_Because he's just like you. __  
><em>_No he isn't! He's foul, arrogant and full of himself! Nothing but a rich prat.__  
><em>_Not anymore.__  
><em>_How do I know it wasn't just pretend?__  
><em>_Why would he pretend?__  
><em>_He has nothing to lose.__  
><em>_That's right. He's already lost everything he thought as his. Gone are the days when he would childishly call you names, or when he would taunt you mindlessly. It doesn't give him pleasure anymore. He's just a guy. A regular guy. He hasn't forgotten the war, just like you. He lost his dear ones, just like you. And he's still suffering, just like you. __  
><em>_I never thought Draco Malfoy would be anything like me.__  
><em>_But he is.__  
><em>_HOW did he change so much?__  
><em>_The war changed everyone..._

__Suddenly, she heard a tapping on her window. Paranoid as she was, she took out her wand and crept towards the source of the noise. It was dark outside, so she couldn't make out who (or what) it was.  
>Her hands shaking, she opened the window..<br>And in flew an owl. Hermione was busy being relieved that it wasn't a death eater, but then she realised that she didn't recognize the owl.  
>Curious, she made her way to the grey creature and noticed a piece of parchment on its leg. She gently took it and began reading.<p>

_Hermione, __  
><em>_I know this is quite out of the blue, and maybe even out of line. But I need to talk to you. I am thinking of coming back to London; back to my life, or whatever's left of it anyway. But I'll need your help. Would you mind meeting me somewhere? It would be better if we discussed this face to face.__  
><em>_Draco.__  
><em>_PS- Thanks for everything that night. I had a great time, and I appreciate what you did._

Hermione reread the letter, and she suddenly wasn't so depressed anymore. She immediately wrote a reply.

_Draco, __  
><em>_You're right, it was out of the blue, but definitely not out of line. I'm glad that you've decided to come back. I'll help you to the best of my abilities, don't worry. How about we meet at a muggle café? I know this great place, if you don't mind, of course. I was thinking 4 o'clock, but there must be an issue with time zones, so tell me whatever you're comfortable with.__  
><em>_Hermione. __  
><em>_PS- Don't mention it. I had a great time too! And whatever I did; I didn't do it as a 'favour'. I wanted to._

She tied the parchment to the owl's leg and it flew away into the night.  
>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<p>

She woke to the noise of yet another tap-tapping at her window. It was the owl.  
>She jumped out of bed and read the note.<p>

_Hermione,__  
><em>_I cannot begin to thank you enough.__  
><em>_There is a 10 hour time difference(I'm surprised you didn't know that, Ms. Brightest-Witch-of-our-Age.)__  
><em>_So I was hoping if we could meet at 11 am or so. Its a decent time for me too. It'll only be 9 pm in Australia. Just give me the name of the place. I'll find it.__  
><em>_Draco_

11 am... Sunday should be fine.  
>She wrote him a quick reply, enclosing the name of the café in it.<br>Then she snuggled back into bed with a content expression.  
>She couldn't wait for Sunday.<p>

She woke up the next day and made her way to work. It was only Thursday and still had to endure two more days at work. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy her job. She did! But there were certain...Er...people who made her uncomfortable.

"Hey there, Hermowninny."

Like Karl Somerson.

"Ninnyyy, come on. I'm saying hi."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Karl was like Hogwarts-Malfoy. He enjoyed teasing her, troubling her and even hurting her. Just because she never said anything didn't mean that she didn't feel bad! She just couldn't deal with him. Mostly.

"Oy. Ninny. Heard me, or is your bushy hair still impairing your hearing?"

"What do you want, Karl." She said it more like a statement than a question.

"I want nothing else but you..." He smirked. "...doing those reports for me."

Hermione didn't even flinch. This was every-day behaviour. And yes, to make matters worse, Karl was her boss.  
>She rolled her eyes and gave him a curt nod.<p>

"Why, Ninny, are we being rude now?"  
>He sauntered over to her, hands in his ridiculous pockets.<p>

"Merlin, Karl. Here's your report. I'll get the other one by tomorrow. Now excuse me. I have work to do."  
>She attempted to get past him..<p>

"Hold on."

..And failed.

"What?" She sighed.

"Show me more respect, Nin. That's all. Know why? Cause I'M the boss here. Your Golden-Trio glory won't last you forever you know."  
>And the bastard walked off with a menacing smirk, mirroring Malfoy's.<p>

_But he's no Draco Malfoy._

Hermione felt her blood boil. How dare he say something like that to her? Honestly, that was out of line, and it hurt her more than anything. The 'Golden Trio' was not really a Trio anymore. Harry was dead! It was just a Duo. Or maybe not even that. Ron was so distant nowadays. He was quite wrapped up with Lavender, but how she put up with his drinking, Hermione couldn't understand. The kiss Hermione and Ron had shared in the Chamber of Secrets was just that. A kiss. Nothing more. Immediately after that, they were both creeped out. It just didn't seem right. They were best friends, for Merlin's sake! Ugh. But now... Yup. There was no Duo either.  
>But it wasn't just the 'Trio' thing. After the war, she had been recognised by witches and wizards of Britain in shopping malls, muggle cafes and even quirky places like ladies bathrooms. But after a while, she had receded into the shadows, becoming less and less recognisable in public. Nevertheless, she had little pangs. She would miss the fame. Not so much the fame, but the circumstances around that time. When Harry was alive, Ron was around. Everything was just normal. Now it wasn't. Never would be. When would she get used to it all? She wanted to be the strong Hermione Granger again. She was sick of being so depressed; but she couldn't pull herself out of it. Sometimes she felt like she had nobody. Everyone was just drifting away from her.<br>Time was supposed to heal, was it not? Well, it wasn't doing a very good job.

"GRANGER, GET YOUR ASS TO WORK." Karl Somerson hollered from 20 feet across the floor.  
>She trudged to her small but comfy cabin, (thank god for small mercies) and began her work.<br>She knew Karl wouldn't fire her. She was good at her job, he couldn't risk losing an employee like her. He just couldn't stand her, and kept 'showing Bushy her rightful place'. He had called her preposterous names in public, including the M word. Mudblood. Even after the war? Huh. He thought he was superior to her. Perhaps because he was richer. MUCH, MUCH richer. Huh.  
>"Oh, NIIIIINNY..."<br>She groaned.  
>This was going to be a long day.<p> 


End file.
